Oliver Building (Chicago)

This article is about the landmark Chicago building. For the Pittsburgh skyscraper, see Oliver Building (Pittsburgh).

Oliver Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Chicago Landmark
Oliver Building Front Door with Oliver Typewriter Company ornamentation
Location:	159 N. Dearborn, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Coordinates:	41°53′05″N 87°37′45.5″W / 41.88472°N 87.629306°W / 41.88472; -87.629306Coordinates: 41°53′05″N 87°37′45.5″W / 41.88472°N 87.629306°W / 41.88472; -87.629306
Built:	1907-1908
Governing body:	Private
NRHP Reference#:	83003563 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	1984
Designated CL:	May 9, 1984

Oliver Typewriter Company ornamentation on Oliver Building (Chicago)

The Oliver Building is located at 159 N. Dearborn Street in Chicago within the Loop. It was built for the Oliver Typewriter Company from 1907-1908 by Holabird & Roche. When two floors were added in 1920, Holabird & Roche were hired for the expansion. The cast iron exterior features typewriter-related motifs. It was declared a Chicago Landmark on May 9, 1984.^[2][3]

The windows above the second floor are known as "Chicago windows," and are wide window panes bracketed by narrower double-hung windows. The windows also include the name of the company below the central pane.^[3]

In the 1990s, when the Oriental Theatre wanted to expand its backstage area, architect Daniel P. Coffey came up with a design plan that gutted the Oliver while preserving one-third of its original steel structure, as well as the building's Dearborn facade and a portion of its alley facade.^[4]

Notes

1. ^ "ILLINOIS - Cook County". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-07-06. http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/IL/Cook/state7.html. 
2. ^ "Oliver Building". City of Chicago. http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/O/OliverBuilding.html. Retrieved 2007-06-17. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Wolfe, Gerard R. (1996). Chicago: In and Around the Loop. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. pp. 53–55. ISBN 0070713901. 
4. ^ Kamin, Blair (2007-04-08). "The Danger of Becoming Skin Deep". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/arts/chi-0704060275apr08,1,1281972.story?page=1&coll=chi-ent_arts-hed